


Imperium

by orphan_account



Series: Stole the Show [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Kelpies, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, International Hunter Derby, Multi, World Cup Dressage, World Cup Showjumping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-22 16:51:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4843052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As an "employee" of top political figure, Drift is sent out to do his bidding. He has six months to catch each-uisges, more commonly known as Kelpies, train them, and then sell them at one of the most prestigious uisge auctions in the world. His employer would expect no less.<br/>Most unfortunately for Drift, working with the Kelpies isn't as easy as people would have him believe. They tend to be rather obstinate and aggressive. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that the each-uisges are carnivorous.<br/>There's absolutely no way this could end badly.<br/>Drift has no clue what he's in for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Ship Called Wander](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3565610) by [vienn_peridot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vienn_peridot/pseuds/vienn_peridot). 



            The cold coastal air buffets into his left side as Drift walks towards the Barn. Even though he’s wearing a supposedly “wind-proof” jacket, he’s still shivering. “I was, to put it lightly, remarkably unprepared for this ‘vacation,’” Drift mutters to himself as he walks. “And this ‘vacation’ turned out to be pointless. They aren’t even here, anyways.”

            _Well, one last ride down to the_ _beach can’t hurt matters,_ he thinks as he reaches the barn door. Drift pulls the old wooden door open, and it creaks as it slowly moves to the side. _Perhaps I should get it fixed… assuming I stay, of course._

            One of his ponies nickers as the young man begins walking down the aisle way. The ponies are at the front, and the empty stalls are at the back. Drift greets each of the ponies as he move down the row, giving each a small chunk of carrot that he pull from my interior jacket pocket.

            Drift comes to a stop in front of the last pony. “Hey, Finn,” he says, and Finale sticks his head out of his stall. The man strokes his head and fishes an apple out of his pocket. “You see this?” Drift asks, and Finn nods his head like he taught him to. “If you’re good today, you get the entire thing. Here.” Drift bites a piece out of the side of the apple and then spits it back out into my palm. Finn scarfs it up and a remarkable amount of apple-covered slobber makes its way onto his owner’s palm. Drift chuckles and the pony curls his upper lip back, smelling the air to see if Drift has more of the treat. “I have to go grab your tack, buddy.” Drift smiles crookedly as Finn wipes his slobbery muzzle all over the front of his not-so-weatherproof jacket. “Be right back.”

            The next stalls are empty, yawning ominously as Drift passes by them. Made of stone, these are some of the strongest buildings on the entire island. Index cards take the place of the nameplates that will be there in the future; each tells where the auction where the horses will be sold is located. The final stall doesn’t have an index card attached to it, but Drift already knows to whom that horse will belong.

            _It’ll be mine,_ he thinks. _My own._

The entire way to the tack room, Drift keeps himself sane by telling himself that this is the only way. It’s the only way out. He catches the horses, he sells them at the auction, he gets paid. He earns enough that he can finally make it out of the grasp of his “employers.”

            The tack room resembles the empty stalls in terms of appearance. All kinds of tack and gear lines the room, and Drift debates his many choices before deciding to go with a plain Western saddle and bridle with an unobtrusive bit. _Finn’s pretty sensitive, so assuming everything goes well I shouldn’t need anything fancier for this ride._ Drift swings a saddle pad and a cinch over the saddle and grabs a grooming kit from the corner on his way out.

            Finn sniffs Drift’s jacket suspiciously as he enters his stall. His owner clucks his tongue at the pony and Finn remembers the idea of personal space and walks back a couple of steps. “Good boy,” Drift says and pats his neck. He begins to curry comb the blue-gray pony, starting at his neck and then working backwards, moving in circles that follow the direction of Finn’s hair and ignoring his face and legs. The Chincoteague extends his neck out, asking Drift to keep currying that itchy spot that’s right _there._ Once he’s finished with the curry comb, Drift take the harder of his brushes and brushes the loose hair off of Finn, once again ignoring his head and legs. That done, he takes the softer brush and get the last of the dust and hair off of my pony, also using the brush on Finn’s face and legs. Drift then pick out the pony’s hooves one by one, getting the stall shavings out.

            Next, Drift carefully wraps all four of Finn’s legs with blue polo wraps, wrapping towards the tail and going from inside out so as to not strain his mount’s tendons. Drift then carefully puts the white saddle pad on Finn’s back and places the saddle on top. He attaches the cinch to both sides of the saddle, tightening it slowly so as to not agitate the pony. Finally, it’s time to bridle Finn. Drift drapes the reins over his neck and encourages Finn to take the bit into his mouth. Once he does, his owner praises him and gives him a sugar cube as he slides the crownpiece over the pony’s ears and makes sure that everything is on straight and is attached correctly.

            Drift takes Finn’s reins in his hand and removes them from their positions on his neck. Finn nuzzles at him affectionately as they walk towards the exit of the barn. The rain pours down outside, and Drift smile. It’s the perfect weather to try and catch the horses.

            _It’s time to go down to the beach._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! Sorry for it being so short. I'll post another chapter this weekend if I can. :)

Finn snorts as the harsh spray from the waves hits him and he skitters to the side. Drift murmurs to the pony under his breath and Finale blows some air out of his nostrils and extends his neck down, relaxing again. Together, the pony and rider walk alongside the coastal cliffs, each lost in his own thoughts.

After a few minutes, Finn lifts his head. He comes to a stop and smells the air before whinnying, the shrill sound echoing off of the cliffs and turning it into a whole herd of whinnying horses. Drift reaches down with his right hand and pets Finn’s neck reassuringly, but the pony does not relax. “It’s okay, Finn,” Drift says softly, and one of Finn’s ears flicks backwards to listen.

Finn startles and spins out from under Drift, leaving him lying flat on his back on the beach, staring up at the sky. The faint shape of the pony’s dark outline moves along the edge of the cliff as he runs back to the barn.

Drift sits up with a curse as soon as he is able to breathe again. The rain pours down, and his clothes are soaked and sandy. He makes a half-hearted attempt to brush the sand off of his clothing, but only ends up making it worse. Eventually, Drift picks himself off of the sand and runs a hand over his bruised hip. He looks over in the direction in which Finn ran, but sees no sign of his frightened pony. Drift sighs and is about to leave the beach and begin searching for his runaway mount when something flickers in his peripheral vision. Very slowly, the human turns towards the motion. As soon as he looks, there’s another flash, and this time Drift is able to identify that whatever is moving is red, white, and is slightly shorter than he is.

Drift knows what it is.

Drift reaches into one of his jacket pockets and withdraws a small vial filled with silver. He fiddles with the cork at the top, hooking his pointer finger through the small silver loop at the top.

A breeze wafts Drift’s hair off to the side as the creature behind him exhales. He can almost see its teeth sinking into the back of his neck and the uisge shaking him like a rag doll before dragging him into the ocean to drown. Drift’s pointer finger tightens on the loop.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Drift opens his eyes and looks towards the speaker. “And back off bro. You’re scaring the poor guy.” Drift glares at the teenage girl, who amends her statement. “Edit. Wing, you’re about to get powdered. Glow, come on out. I see you.” The girl remains leaning against the rocky cliff face, her arms crossed over her chest. The breathing on Drift’s neck stops and the Kelpie backs up rather quickly. Drift removes his finger from the loop on the top of the vial.

The Kelpie is a couple of inches shorter than he is and has a coat made of snow splashed with copper. A chestnut tobiano, if Drift remembers correctly. Water drips from the Kelpie’s mane and tail. He hasn’t been out of the water for long. His ears are longer than a normal horse’s and they end in points rather like those of Marwari horses.

But it’s the Kelpie’s eyes that Drift finds the most fascinating. They’re golden in color, with flecks of darker brown mixed in.

Basically, the water horse is what Drift would consider gorgeous.

“I am so screwed…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back. Sorry for this chapter being a little late. This is the longest chapter by far, though, so hopefully that makes up for it! Oh, and one of my friends, rowanRed@Paigeeworld did an *adorable* manga drawing of my original character Deep Freeze (Kala) for me during our Model UN debate for school! It's located on my Tumblr: http://wherethehelliscastiel.tumblr.com/image/130107410704.  
> Once you've finished reading, go check out some of Rowan's other works! She's an amazing artist. :)  
> Enjoy!

The Kelpie blinks, its golden eyes reflecting the outlines of the waves that crash behind it. It stands completely still, the only thing moving being its mane as it is flung skyward by the wind. After a time filled with the crash of the sea and the cries of gulls, the Kelpie— Wing— turns its head. To Drift, it is a motion both easily recognizable yet still foreign in its execution. “You. What are you doing here?” Drift asks as he turns towards the girl, finally registering the fact that there is a completely unarmed teenage girl hanging out with Kelpies. As in man-eating, opinionated water horses with generally pretty horrible attitudes. “You shouldn’t be here. In fact, you should be far, far away from this place.” Drift narrows his eyes, trying to put all the pieces together. There’s something wrong here…

The girl shrugs. “Hey. Don’t shoot me. I’m just the messenger,” she says with an almost predatory grin. Before Drift’s eyes, her appearance changes. Water begins to drip from her hair and fangs poke out from under her upper lip. A crown of bones—did those things belong to humans?— glitters upon her hair that has changed to a silvery-blue color. Her eyes lighten in color until they’re an unnaturally light grey, and her clothing soaks through with water.

And then, as quickly as it happened, the girl’s back to normal. She smiles sweetly at Drift, who runs a hand over his eyes. “So… you’re like him?” He asks, motioning vaguely in the direction of the red and white Kelpie, his hand still over his eyes.

“Yeah,” the girl— no, Kelpie— says.

Drift removes his hand from his eyes. “Then why haven’t you guys eaten me yet?” A harsh laugh breaks through the silence, and Drift whirls. There’s a young man standing behind him, dressed in running gear. He has on a vibrant neon green sweatshirt and a pair of black sweatshirts. When he speaks, a pair of pearly white fangs flashes in the dim grey light of the day.

“I’m sorry, but it was funny!” The man says in response to the girl’s very un-amused stare.

“Ignore him. He’s a mess, but at least he’s our mess,” a different voice says. It’s smooth and lyrical, rather like flowing water. Drift turns slowly towards the voice before doing a double take. The speaker is standing next to the girl, and he smiles at Drift. “I am Wing. He’s Counterglow, and this is Deep Freeze, although we call her Kala.” Now that he says it, Drift can easily see the resemblance between the white haired boy and the red and white Kelpie. They share the same refined build and bright golden eyes.

Kala stiffens, her entire body going stiff as a board. She lets out a soft noise that Drift instinctively knows means nothing good. “We have company,” she hisses, looking out towards the ocean. Wing and Counterglow both look in the direction she’s staring.

“’Bots,” Counterglow growls. “They’ve come to deliver their uisges.” Counterglow bares his teeth and reaches into the pocket of his sweatshirt before pulling out a pair of daggers.

Drift raises his eyebrows, and Wing places a hand on the man’s arm. “Easy. Remember the rules.”

“But they’re in our territory!”

“I know that, Glow. But the human is here, and they have to offer him their payment, much as we had to do.” Counterglow takes a step back but doesn’t appear to relax any.

“I’ll go.” All three heads turn to look at Kala, who’s standing a little ways away. “I’ve had dealings with them before. Besides, my sister’s with them.” She shrugs softly, pretending to be nonchalant but not really succeeding at it. That’s obviously not an issue I want to touch, Drift thinks. As much as he wants to know, his self-preservation instincts have kicked in.

Wing lets out a sound that Drift’s never heard before, though he knows what it means. It’s a warning.

Kala gives Wing a pleading look. Counterglow shakes his head, almost as if the whole thing amuses him. Drift honestly wouldn’t be surprised. Wing les out a soft hiss, threatening, but Kala isn’t backing down any. Eventually, Wing sighs.

“Fine. But be careful. And come right back when you’re done. Just find out who they sent to be tribute.” Kala grins, her fangs flashing. She lets out something that sounds surprisingly like a nicker.

“Chao,” Kala says before she races down the beach, away from her companions. Wing stands in silence as he watches her run. Eventually, she passes around a bend and disappears from sight.

Counterglow appears next to Drift. “Did she seriously just say that?”

“She did,” Wing says, turning away from the direction in which Kala ran.

“Chao… I gotta start using that now.”

“No.”

“But it’s an awesome word!”

“No.”

“But-“

“No.”

“WING!”

“Just… no.”

Drift restrains the urge to laugh, given the fact that the ones arguing could technically rip out his throat before he could even blink. He doubts that they would actually do that, but he really doesn’t want to test that theory. He also thinks that now might be a prime time to change the subject, as Counterglow is by now completely off the cot and Wing’s expression is gradually inching more and more towards murderous. “I heard something about tribute… Does one of you mind explaining?”

The Kelpies immediately stop bickering and both turn their heads to look at Drift. They share a couple of minutes of mental arguing before Wing is the one to speak. “You, like all the others before you, are here to catch us and to tame us. Don’t think we don’t know,” he says, catching Drift’s expression out of the corner of his eye.

“Anyways. In order to ensure the survival of our race, our leader, Dai Atlas, made a deal with the leaders of your species. Each time one of you shows up wanting some uisges, we host a meeting and decide who will be given to the human. The Autobots, one of the other uisge herds, are also bound by this contract. Normally we have to give five to seven uisges each, but sometimes there are changes. This is one of those times. Occasionally, there will be a uisge who volunteers to be tribute that’s different. Special. Kala is one of these.

She wasn’t always an each-uisge, you know. Once, she was like you. Human.” Wing meets Drift’s eye now, something unidentifiable mixing with the gold. “She’s more valuable because you’ll make money off of her. She knows your language, she’s smart, she’s young, she’s female, and she understands you. The reason Dai Atlas chose her is because you’ll make easily five times more money off of her than you will any of the rest of us. Counterglow and me… we’re just the icing on the cake. Take one member of the trine, and you’d better take the rest, too. We work best as a team.” Drift’s gut clenches at the Kelpie’s words. He now knows what he sees in Wing’s eyes.

Wing is afraid.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

The silence is broken by a loud rattling noise. Wing startles and flinches, and Drift is once again reminded of the fact that he isn’t like him. He’s a horse. A shape-shifting horse that lives underwater and most likely enjoys eating people, and I’m as human as they come, Drift thinks. Wing looks around for a couple of seconds before relaxing. “It’s just Kala’s phone,” he says, looking at something behind the human. Drift turns and looks for the phone, finding it sitting a couple of feet away on a nearby rock. His skin prickles, almost as if he’s being watched. Stupid, stupid. Drift goes stock-still and listens to the breathing behind him. Never turn your back on a stranger.

Wing isn’t human anymore.

There’s a period of deathly quiet. It seems to stretch on for hours before a gust of air ruffles Drift’s hair and sends strands flying in all directions. It tickles, and Drift bites back a laugh. Now is not the time. Not when I’m about to be eaten. Then, much to his surprise, Wing reaches forward and places his muzzle on Drift’s right shoulder. The human takes quiet, shallow breaths, barely daring to do so at all.

Somebody moves behind them, the sound of their soft footsteps barely audible over the crashing of the waves. Wing hears it, though, and he yanks his muzzle back and spins on his haunches. Drift turns and sees the Kelpie standing in front of him, his ears back and fangs bared at the intruder.

Kala is a good distance away from the two of them, Counterglow at her side. Both have giant grins plastered on their faces. “That has got to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” the teenager says. Counterglow’s expression changes into one that makes Drift sincerely fear checking the Internet later. He has absolutely no clue what the uisge might post. In front of him, Wing visibly relaxes and lets out a soft snort, shaking his head.

Behind the two other uisges is a small gathering of people. They stand together in a group a little ways away from Kala and are muttering to each other. “I got the uisges,” Kala says, before turning to Counterglow. “Glow, watch your manners. The last thing I want is for me to have to drag your half-dead corpse to Knock Out again, and I somehow doubt that you want to have a bunch of bullet holes in your side.” Counterglow gives Kala an odd look. The girl responds by inclining her head towards the cliff. Drift, Wing, and Counterglow follow the direction in which she’s pointing. There, high up on the ridge, is a person.

A person with a sniper rifle.

Drift watches as a small red dot climbs up the front of his jacket. He looks up at the sniper, who looks back at him with electric blue eyes. In his peripheral vision, Drift sees Wing pull his lips back and bare his sharp teeth at the sniper, trying to threaten him. He doesn’t seem very threatened.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Counterglow hisses. “He’s here?” He narrows his eyes at the sniper, whose expression doesn’t change any. Drift racks his memory, trying to figure out why the man looks vaguely familiar.

“Ignore him. We have a job to do,” Kala says, elbowing her friend hard in the ribs. Counterglow winces and half-heartedly slaps at her. One of the uisges that had been part of the side group steps forward and a hush falls upon the group. He walks up to Drift and offers his hand for a handshake. Drift takes it.  
“I am Prowl. I am here on behalf of my leader.” Drift nods his head.

“It is very nice to meet you, Prowl.” Prowl doesn’t seem like somebody he would want to mess with, no matter Drift’s fighting experience. It’s something about the deadly and sharp eyes and the icy and controlled exterior that chills Drift to the bone. Prowl appears markedly less human than Kala, Wing, or Counterglow. He appears to be more highly evolved predator than somebody you’d want to invite out for coffee.

Prowl tilts his head a little bit before speaking again. “Rewind.” A rose-grey each-uisge steps forward in its equine form. “Swerve.” A chestnut overo. “Sunstreaker.” It’s a gorgeous buckskin this time. “Sideswipe.” A blood bay steps up next to Sunstreaker. “Wheeljack.” A fleabitten grey. “Fortress Maximus.” A big blue roan draft horse steps forwards— it’s the largest horse that Drift has ever seen. “Red Alert.” A flighty-looking chestnut uisge. “Blaster.” An apricot dun. “Tailgate.” A petite blue-grey. “Deep Abyss.” All three of the non-Autobot Kelpies stiffen. Kala inhales sharply as a black uisge steps up to stand next to her comrades. “Silverstone.” A dapple grey halts next to the others. “Midnight Dust.” As the dark blue roan walks towards them, Counterglow slowly reaches over and gives Kala a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. “Whirl.” Kala raises an eyebrow but says nothing as a pale blue roan prances forward. She seems equal parts curious and worried. “And Hot Rod.” A flashy flaxen chestnut trots forward with a snort and a toss of its head. That one’s trouble, Drift thinks as he bites his lip. He’s slightly surprised at the number of horses that are being offered as tribute from the Autobots. Wing said that it usually wasn’t this many.

The fourteen Kelpies that lined up all turn their gazes upon Drift and watch him expectantly. Prowl nods as he looks over the gathered uisges before handing Drift an armful of halters. He doesn’t smile. “Your tribute has been assembled. You can take them, but you cannot take any other uisges that you find in our waters.” Prowl flicks his icy gaze over Drift, daring him to say otherwise before beginning to walk away.

“I graciously accept. Thank you,” Drift says, before he abruptly remembers the sniper on the cliff. “Though I do have one question, sir,” he says, and Prowl turns to face him again. “Who is that? The one who has me at gunpoint.”

For a split second a small, crooked smile graces Prowl’s features. “That is Perceptor,” he says before he turns and walks away. A faint splash announces his exit from the meeting of the uisges.

“Well, you’d best get us back to your place,” Kala says, snapping Drift back to attention.

“Yeah,” Drift says. “Let’s go.” He walks down the row of each-uisges and greets each of them before haltering them and preparing them for the walk back. When he’s done with the Autobots (it takes longer than he would like, as some of the Kelpies aren’t too enthusiastic about the whole thing), Drift moves on to the Kelpies he first met— Dai Atlas’s Kelpies. Kala and Counterglow both allow themselves to be haltered without too much of a fuss, though when Drift tries to halter Wing he snorts and backs.

“Easy boy,” Drift says as Wing lets out a displeased sound and strikes out at him, baring his teeth. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” Wing lets out a noisy exhale that is astonishingly similar to a human sigh and paws at the ground with one of his front hooves. “I promise,” Drift says as he slowly bends down and places the halter down upon the pale sand of the coastal shore. Wing stops pawing and eventually walks forward to stand in front of Drift. He extends out his neck and sniffs the human’s jacket, nuzzling it curiously. Drift lets out a sharp laugh that startles the uisge back a couple of feet. The apple from before is still in his pocket!

The human unzips his pocket and pulls out the apple, inspecting it for damage as it sits in the palm of his hand. Wing gathers up his courage and approaches Drift again. “Here you go,” he says and extends the juicy fruit out to the uisge as a kind of peace offering. “You don’t try and kill me, and I don’t halter you.” Wing nods his head up and down as if he’s agreeing with his words. He probably is, Drift thinks with amusement as the chestnut tobiano gently reaches down and lifts the apple from his palm with careful lips.

As Drift leads his new horses home, the scarily calm gaze of Perceptor, the Kelpie sniper, follows him until Drift and the uisges round a bend and disappear from his sight.


	5. Chapter 5

The rain gradually ceases as Drift and the Kelpies head back to the Barn. The human has to pause a couple of times to brush damp hair out of his eyes, and each hesitation earns him a soft nudge from the Kelpie behind him.

The each-uisges aren’t incredibly happy, but Kala and her companions keep the more upset ones company as they walk along the cliff-side. Wing prances ahead of the group, the chrome on his legs flashing in the grey. Little by little, the dark clouds begin to part and small rays of sunshine peak down from above. The only sounds to be heard are Drift’s soft footsteps and the waves crashing onto the beach below. Though it was at first more than slightly disconcerting to the human to find that the Kelpies are completely silent when they’re moving in their equine forms, he barely notices it now.

Wing comes to an abrupt stop and his ears prick forward. He’s looking at something further inland, shrouded in the deep grey. The rest of the uisges follow his lead and come to a halt. Drift walks forward until he’s standing next to the tobiano Kelpie. “Wing?” He asks quietly, and the horse’s left ear flicks back to listen. His right remains trained on whatever he’s watching. Drift attempts to peer through the mist.

Something appears from within the cloud of mist, walking away from them: something distinctly equine in shape. Next to Drift, Wing tenses, readying himself for a fight. The equine walks slowly back in the direction of Drift’s Barn, stepping out into the clear. One of the rays of sunshine illuminates its blue-grey coat and a rare smile graces Drift’s features.

"Finn!” The pony stops and turns at his master’s voice. When he sees Drift, he lets out a high-pitched whinny and gallops down the path to him. The young Chincoteague comes to a stop before he reaches the group, though, and distrust flickers in his eyes. Wing does not seem to be particularly fond of Finale, either; he pulls his lips back into a snarl and snaps at the pony, scolding him for throwing Drift. Finn blows out some air and chews submissively, his tail flicking ever so softly. At least he has some decent self-preservation instincts, Drift thinks. 

The each-uisge next to him gives Finn one last glare before he walks over to his companions. Kala lets out a soft whicker and the two quietly discuss something as Finn moves to stand in front of Drift. He extends his head out, and Drift rubs his forehead with one hand while combing the tangles out of his forelock with his other. Finn pulls his upper lip back, smelling the air, and Drift chuckles. The pony shakes his neck out and Drift gives his forehead one last pet before stepping back so he can check his mount for injuries. There’s a small scratch alongside Finn’s right side, but otherwise he looks pretty good on the outside.

Drift takes ahold of the reins looped over the pony’s neck and ties the ends into a knot so that Finn can’t accidentally step on them. “Jog.” Finn shakes his head, unwilling to move. “Finn.” Drift waves at the pony with his arm, and he snorts and moves forward at a decent trot. He’s moving fine. “Walk.” the human says and Finale comes back down to a walk and turns to look at Drift expectantly. “Come here, Finn.” The pony returns to his owner and snuffles at his pocket, and Drift slips him a sugar cube out of the view of the uisges.

An ungodly shriek startles both pony and rider, and Drift’s attention snaps back to the water horses. Next to him, Finn has gone as tight as a bowstring. One of the Kelpies, a high-strung blue roan, rears into the air, snapping at a smaller uisge— Kala. Kala rears up in challenge, her ears pinned back flat against her neck. Wing lets out a shrill whinny, but neither of the horses appears to listen. The dapple grey and the blue roan circle around each other, and the group of Kelpies goes deathly silent as they watch with pointed ears pricked.

The roan lunges first, aiming for Kala’s neck, but the smaller uisge is already well out of range. She moves with a grace that equally worries and hypnotizes the human. Kala strikes out at the roan with a foreleg and the two bite and snap at each other with their pointed and sharp teeth. The blue Kelpie swings its forelegs onto Kala’s shoulders and tries to use its weight to push her down, but the grey uses that to grab onto the underside the other uisge’s throat. The roan lets out a hair-raising scream as it is flipped by its opponent and ends up on its back, the smaller uisge standing over it. Black blood slowly drips down its neck and its nostrils flare as it glares up at its vanquisher. Kala’s tail flicks from side to side as she pulls back her bloody lips into an eerie grin and bares her teeth at the other uisge. It hisses at her, but Kala seems quite unmoved. Eventually, she steps back from the prone horse lying on the beach and the blue Kelpie stands up on three legs. Drift groans. It has obviously become injured if the blood and the way it's standing says anything, and they haven’t even made it back to the Barn.

It’s going to be a long couple of months…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for such a short chapter. I'm currently on the road to a horse show, but I will be updating this (assuming Cappy doesn't kill me... which is definitely a possibility with him). And yes, the blue roan is Whirl. :D


End file.
